Recent models of pickup trucks have added shorter options of the standard truck bed lengths and are now offering eight-foot models and six-foot models thereby dictating that the longest totally enclosed load that can be carried must be restricted to within either of these standard lengths. In the shorter model, even with the tailgate lowered, the truck bed length only extends to seven feet, six inches. Problems arise while carrying loads with the tailgate lowered because the probabilities of cargo sliding out of the back are increased thereby requiring the transporter to devise some means of tying down the load. When loads approaching fifteen feet are carried, the center of gravity for these loads is shifted farther toward the back thereby making the load increasingly unstable and making it easier for the loads to shift towards the back and fly off of the truck. When loads exceed fifteen feet in length such as in long lengths of lumber, they are impossible to load without providing some sort of counterbalancing ballast, such as a couple of concrete blocks or a sack of sand, that is resting on the load and is positioned toward the front of the truck bed.
Additionally, there is a problem which has always existed with pickup trucks, that is, unstable cargo loads that are totally within the truck bed which are liable to roll or shift while being transported. The driver must devise some means of using ropes for tying these loads to prevent such movement. When carrying loads such as groceries that are apt to shift around in the truck bed, the driver is likely to see a cantaloupe or a bottle of juice rolling around the truck bed during acceleration or braking. Cargo that rolls, such as a lawnmower, must be tied down to prevent rolling either from front to back or from side to side.
In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the applicant has designed and proposed a device which will utilize the weight of the truck to provide counterbalancing for the long load and which will provide a vertical locking mechanism to prevent the moving, shifting, and torque movement of the long load while it is being transported. The same, above-mentioned device may be adjusted horizontally along the truck bed to secure the moveable load against the truck cab and prevent any other said additional movement.
While there have been several other attempts at addressing these particular problems with devices being manufactured for pickup trucks that provide for securing cargo to the truck bed (U.S. Pat. No. 5,827,023; U.S. Pat. No. 5,584,521; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,673,956 for examples) all simply provide for additional securing attachments for ropes to be used in tying down the loads. None address the issue of an installed device that will permit the driver to easily and handily secure loads with the flexibility and consistency of a built-in system. Most of the other devices are restricted to securing loads at predetermined attachment points while this present invention permits the flexibility of an infinite variety of rigid position holdings without having to always carry along counterbalance or securing devices.
An alternative design is disclosed in co-pending application Ser. No. 09/310,211 filed at the U.S. Patent Office on May 12, 1999, to a similar retrofit model which can be installed on the truck sidewalls and will not require that the truck be drilled welded or otherwise damaged. This current invention is more specific to a factory installed configuration, and this present invention permits the tailgate to function in the normal manner, thereby permitting cargo to be loaded in the conventional manner. Additionally, this invention provides the bonus of a partial energy saving flow-through feature similar to the "ProNet" or "Air Gate" flow through tailgates, both of which are listed as patent pending. However, this current invention is in no way similar to either of these inventions in that they are simply mesh installed in place of an existing tailgate, and in this present invention the flow through feature is dictated by the utilitarian function of the load locking requirement of the tailgate.
It is therefore the object of this invention to utilize the tailgate as an improved compartmentalized cargo restrainer.
It is the object of this invention to utilize the tailgate as a clamping and locking device for holding down long loads.
It is the object of this invention to provide for ease of utilization by being a motor-driven device.